Social distancing has impacted people being able to view properties in person and estate agents being able to conduct valuations.
These have often taken place over the internet instead, which may have put off prospective house buyers. Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: “It will not be until after lockdown restrictions are eased that we will get a sense of the new temporary normal conditions for the housing market.
“More immediately, we are likely to see some considerable movement in activity levels as buyers and sellers seek to kick-start previously agreed transactions which are likely to have stalled or been delayed.” He added: “The future remains uncertain and based on our current forecasting we expect short term headwinds to house prices, although we maintain our underlying confidence in the health of the housing market in the longer term.